High cholesterol disease: causes, symptoms, and cure & bull; hello healthy

Cholesterol is often seen as a bad thing. In fact, cholesterol is needed by the body in sufficient quantities. Cholesterol may be a condition that is not good for health if the amount is excess in the body. So, how does high cholesterol happen? Check out the full explanation of the high cholesterol stuff below.

High cholesterol, when excessive cholesterol levels are in the blood

Cholesterol is a soft substance found in fat in the blood. This substance is generally produced by the liver naturally. Cholesterol is classified as important for the formation of cell membranes, certain hormones, and vitamin D. Since cholesterol is insoluble in water, this substance cannot spread in the blood by itself.

To spread cholesterol in the blood, you need the help of lipoproteins. Lipoproteins are particles made of fat and protein. Lipoproteins carry cholesterol and other lipids, namely triglycerides, into the bloodstream.

Lipoproteins are divided into two, namely low density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). LDL is often called bad cholesterol because it spreads cholesterol throughout the body. While HDL is considered good cholesterol because it helps remove bad cholesterol levels from the bloodstream.

Therefore, high cholesterol is a condition in which LDL cholesterol levels are high in the blood, while HDL levels actually decrease. If your cholesterol levels are high, you may be at increased risk of heart disease or stroke.

However, if your cholesterol is high due to high HDL cholesterol levels, you may not be in a dangerous condition. This condition can be cured by lowering cholesterol levels in the body.

Meanwhile, the level of triglycerides in the blood must also be considered. The reason is, along with cholesterol, triglycerides can also affect your heart health. If the levels of triglycerides and bad cholesterol are equally high in the blood, you have hyperlipidemia.

Hyperlipidemia is a condition of imbalance of fats in the blood, which is characterized by high cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Although both are useful for the body, when the levels are high it will cause plaque buildup on the walls of blood vessels.

As with high cholesterol, if this condition is not treated immediately, the plaque will enlarge and clog the arteries, causing cardiovascular disease, heart attacks and strokes.

Symptoms and signs of high cholesterol

Basically, there is no such thing as a high cholesterol symptom. Why is that? This condition usually doesn't show any special symptoms. New high cholesterol will cause symptoms when complications have occurred or cause other, more severe diseases.

Therefore, a blood test is the only way to detect whether your cholesterol level is high or is still within reasonable limits.

Therefore, you may experience this condition, but don't know it. Usually, when high cholesterol levels in the blood increase, your body will store this excess substance in the arteries.

The arteries are responsible for draining blood from the heart to the rest of the body. The buildup of this substance in the arteries is known as plaque. If left untreated, over time plaque can make arteries narrow.

However, this plaque can also break down to form blood clots that block blood circulation from the arteries. At that time, the arteries cannot drain blood to the heart muscle and can cause a heart attack.

Usually, in conditions like this, most people just realize that they have cholesterol.

When to see a doctor?

Ask your doctor if you feel you want to do a test to check your cholesterol level. To test the levels of this substance in children and adolescents who do not have risk factors for heart disease will usually be done once at the age of 9-11 years.

Then, the test was carried out for the second time in the age range between 17-19 years. Generally, this test is done every 5 years in children who have no risk factors.

If you find that the test results are not good, your doctor may recommend that you check your cholesterol levels more often.

Likewise, those of you who have a family history of this condition, heart disease, or other risk factors; smoking habits, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Diagnosis and treatment carried out early on has the potential to prevent the condition from worsening and the emergence of various other disease conditions.

If you have any signs or symptoms above or any other questions, please consult your doctor.

Various causes and risk factors for high cholesterol

There are several causes and risk factors for your high cholesterol, namely:

Causes of high cholesterol

According to the British Heart Foundation, there are various things that can cause high cholesterol. Some you can control and some you can't.

Causes of high cholesterol that you can control:

• Too much saturated fat.
• Lack of exercise or other physical activity.
• Having too much fat in the body, especially in the midsection.

Meanwhile, there are also causes of high cholesterol that you cannot control, such as:

• Age.
• Gender.
• Family medical history.
• Kidney or liver disease.
• Underactive thyroid gland.

Risk factors for high cholesterol

There are many risk factors for you to experience this condition, namely:

1. Poor diet

One example of a poor diet is consuming saturated fat, which is found in animal products, and trans fat, or fat found in over-the-counter pastries, can raise cholesterol levels.

Foods high in this substance, such as red meat and fat-rich dairy products, will also increase the amount of a portion of this fat. Therefore, adopt a healthy diet by reducing foods high in cholesterol and increasing fiber intake which can lower cholesterol.

2. Lack of exercise

Lack of exercise can increase your risk of developing high cholesterol. The reason is, if you do not exercise enough, your weight tends to increase.

Exercise can increase HDL levels and reduce LDL levels. That way, your risk of experiencing the condition will be reduced.

3. Smoking habits

Smoking habits can damage your blood vessels, making it easier for fat to accumulate in them. This habit can also reduce HDL levels in the body. If you are a smoker, try to stop using it for a healthier life.

4. Obesity

Obesity is often associated with high triglyceride levels, higher LDL levels, and lower HDL levels. Therefore, obesity can increase your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Having a body mass index of 30 or more puts you at risk for developing high cholesterol.

5. Age

As you get older, your risk of developing this condition also increases. The reason is, the older you are, the more your liver is unable to remove LDL from the body. If you have an unhealthy lifestyle, age can be one of the causes for you to experience this condition.

6. Genetic

In a family, sometimes not only genes are passed on but behavior, lifestyle, and environment are also passed down from parent to child. The influence that parents exert on their children often increases the risk of their offspring to have high cholesterol levels.

The risk of this condition can increase even more if these genetic factors are "balanced" with an unhealthy lifestyle such as not maintaining a diet or smoking.

7. Type 2 diabetes

High blood sugar levels also have an effect on very high LDL levels or so-called very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). In addition, high blood sugar levels can also reduce HDL levels in the blood. If both occur, your risk of developing heart disease and stroke is even higher.

8. Gender

Before menopause, women tend to have more LDL than men the same age. However, over time, cholesterol levels for men and women will both increase until they reach the age of 60-65 years.

Complications from high cholesterol

In fact, high cholesterol can cause other health problems due to complications. Among others are:

1. Coronary heart disease

One of the complications of high cholesterol is coronary heart disease. This disease occurs because of the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Usually, coronary heart disease is also characterized by pain in the chest or angina.

Chest pain or soreness may occur if you have high cholesterol levels. If the arteries are affected, the heart's need for blood may be problematic. Apart from chest pain, you may experience other symptoms of coronary artery disease.

2. Heart attack

If there is a buildup of excess cholesterol, this cholesterol pile turns into plaque. When the plaque breaks down, bleeding is possible. Bleeding can form on the part of the body where there is plaque, blocking blood flow.

If blood stops and can't flow to your heart, you may have a heart attack.

3. Stroke

As with a heart attack, a stroke may occur when there is bleeding blocking blood flow to the brain. Blood flow may be blocked due to plaque or cholesterol buildup in certain areas that block blood vessels.

How is high cholesterol diagnosed?

If you want to know the level of cholesterol you have in your body, go to the doctor. The doctor will help you do a blood test called a lipid panels. This test is specifically for checking cholesterol levels in your blood.

Lipid panels will measure the levels of these substances in your body as a whole, including the amount of LDL, HDL, and triglycerides.

In doing this test, your doctor or other medical professional will take a sample of your blood. After that, this sample will be sent to a laboratory for analysis. When your test results are released, you will be notified if any of your cholesterol levels tend to get too high.

For the most accurate measurement, do not consume anything (other than plain water) for 9-12 hours before the blood sample is drawn.

Normal standards of levels of this substance can differ from one laboratory to another. Ask your doctor for more information about the results of the diagnosis you will get.

Choice of drugs to treat high cholesterol

Lifestyle changes such as exercising and eating a healthy diet are the main resistance you can take in dealing with this condition.

Therefore, before you use various other methods, try to change your lifestyle first into a healthy one. However, if your efforts are still not fruitful and your cholesterol levels are still high, your doctor will recommend choosing a drug that suits you.

There are several types of drugs that you can use to treat high cholesterol conditions. The use of this medication depends on various factors, such as individual risk factors, age, health condition and possible side effects. Common options include:

1. Statins

Statins are a class of drugs that block substances in your liver that are needed to form cholesterol. This causes your liver to remove substances from your blood.

This drug can also help your body reabsorb cholesterol stuck to the artery walls, thereby preventing coronary artery disease. Even so, not everyone is allowed to take this drug. The use of this drug can also have side effects such as serious muscle problems.

2. Bile-acid-binding resins

Your liver will use cholesterol to make bile acids, which are substances that the body needs in the process of metabolism. Drugs such as cholestyramine (Prevalite), colesevelam (Welchol) and colestipol (Colestid) can reduce levels of these substances directly by binding to bile acids.

By using this medicine, your liver will use the excess of this substance to make more bile acids, which can reduce the levels of this substance in the body.

3. Cholesterol absorption inhibitors

Your small intestine absorbs these substances that come from the food you eat and then releases them into your bloodstream. Medicines such as ezetimibe (Zetia) can help reduce cholesterol levels in the blood by limiting the absorption of this substance that you get from food. This drug can be used in conjunction with statin drugs to get maximum benefits.

4. Fibrate drugs

Fenofibrate and gemfibrozil are several types of fibrate medications that can help lower triglyceride levels in the blood. This drug can speed up the reduction of triglyceride levels in the blood.

However, you should not use these drugs if you have severe kidney problems, as well as liver disease.

5. Fish oil

Omega 3 fatty acids or fish oil is also a type of medicine that you can use to treat high triglyceride levels in the blood. Usually, this drug will be prescribed by a doctor.

The reason is, if you buy fish oil without a doctor's direction, you may experience other health problems, such as bleeding. Therefore, check with your doctor first before using cholesterol-lowering dietary supplements.

6. Niacin

Niacin can lower triglyceride levels as well as LDL cholesterol in the blood. However, this drug can interact with other medicines that you are taking. Therefore, you should consult your doctor first if you want to treat high cholesterol levels with niacin.

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